Feb 28, 2009

Jonah's hanging in there ...

Patrice posted an update shortly after arriving to see Jonah this afternoon ... she's been released from post-partum care so that she can be with Matt and Jonah as much as possible.

In brief, when she arrived, Jonah's stats were stable, and there is no intestinal blockage, so no surgery is needed right now. The burn team has recommended that he be covered with the gauze on ALL parts of his body, even the non-lesioned parts (which are few), to further protect him from infection. A silver lining in all the dark clouds, Patrice was MOST excited about THIS development:

Family: "Jonah's famous! MckMama put a note about him and your blog on Twitter."

Patrice: "I got Tweeted by MckMama???!!!"

The biopsy was complete this morning (much earlier than expected), and Jonah definitely has Epidermolysis Bullosa. The dermatologist says that he is rare -- only eight cases in every million babies. They will now have to do an electronic microscopy on his sample to determine which type he has, which can take up to three weeks.

Patrice did have a terrifying experience during which -- while she was visiting him -- Jonah started turning purple. He had stopped breathing, and it took them several minutes to get him breathing again. Please pray that he remains stable and begins healing, and that they all feel comfort in the midst of their distress.